Page 26 - Flathead Beacon // 3.4.15

26 | MARCH 4, 2015
LIKE I WAS SAYIN’ Kellyn Brown
Fireballs in the Sky
AFIREBALL STREAKED ACROSS THE WESTERN sky last week. It was visible from Canada to Arizona and a handful of Montanans captured the event on film. The images showed what looked like a close-passing meteor with a long tail. With a backdrop of an aurora bo- realis display, the spectacle was especially pronounced in Glacier National Park.
But it wasn’t a meteor.
Maj. Martin O’Donnell with U.S. Strategic Command told the Associated Press that it was actually the remnants of a Chinese rocket booster that reentered the atmosphere. While the recent fireball provided an especially spectacu- lar show, these events are fairly common.
In September of last year, Montanans watched a Rus- sian satellite break up in the night sky in what was de- scribed as three glowing “rocks” with red and orange streaks. Of course, when the government officials explain the origins of strange objects in the sky, not everyone be- lieves them.
A UFO enthusiast, John Greenewald, spent about two decades filing Freedom of Information Act requests, ask- ing the government to release its files on unusual sightings. And recently, about 130,000 declassified records were pub- lished online – called “Project Blue Book.” Although there is a copyright dispute between Greenewald and, bizarrely, Ancentry.com over who owns the digital copies, right now many of the sightings can be searched at www.fold3.com.
Project Blue Book, according to the report, consists of the “U.S. Air Force investigation into UFOs that were sighted between June 1947 and December 1969.” Many were determined to be satellites and rockets, much like the recent fireballs.
But drill down into the documents and you’ll find re- ports like this from Kalispell in December 1959, when wit- nesses reported seeing a “long, dark object with white light on nose. Object appeared to go into the ground.”
This would spook anyone, especially a resident in 1950s Montana, and the incident was reported to the local sher- iff. But an investigator said it was simply a refueling opera- tion east of the city.
Other reports were more detailed. A source in Mis- soula in December 1956 turned over “physical evidence” of a UFO – an object he believed was “part of a space ship, containing a self-contained power unit activated by un- known material.” Investigators determined the object was a “black-grey colored volcanic rock.”
Still other incidents were more profound – like an ob- ject reported the night of January 18, 1955, in Kalispell.
A man was in his backyard chopping wood. It was 6:15 p.m. when suddenly a bright light lit up the sky. Already dark in the dead of winter, the object was so luminous that the man could see his neighbor’s house across the small lake on which he lived, about three-quarters of a mile away. About five minutes later he heard an explosion.
He wasn’t the only one who saw it. An employee at the U.S. weather station said he had received several “eyewit- ness reports” about the “disturbance,” including one from a local rancher who saw a “teardrop” shaped object that lit up the ground with a violet color. Five minutes later, he also heard a loud explosion.
A railway conductor reported the same. And whatever it was, with so many reports, it was likely the talk of Ka- lispell for several days after.
After an investigation, including interviews with wit- nesses, the government determined that this “disturbance was created by a small meteor penetrating the earth’s at- mosphere and exploding from contact with heavier air.”
That’s a logical explanation. Nonetheless, there were apt to be some skeptics in a post-war era when reports like this were common and the government thoroughly docu- mented nearly all of them. I only wish there were more cameras pointed to the sky that night.
OPINION FLATHEADBEACON.COM
TWO FOR THOUGHT
Local Topics, Opposing Views
By Tim Baldwin
Sen. Rand Paul recently won the CPAC straw poll for the third year in a row with 26 percent of 3,007 votes. Paul led runner up, Gov. Scott Walker, by over 4 points. Sen. Ted Cruz received 11.5 per- cent, while Jeb Bush received only 8.3 percent de- spite reports of his busing people in to support him. This may signal a better future for the Republican Party as 42 percent of the voters were students and between the ages of 18 and 25.
Voters expressed important issues such as the economy and national security. Perhaps not so sur- prisingly, only 27 percent said marijuana should remain illegal. Given Paul’s consistent message of reforming the criminal justice system, ending pri- vacy invasions by government, and not meddling in foreign affairs, it seems younger conservatives are far more libertarian than their parents’ gen- eration and are thrilled to prevent people like Jeb Bush from becoming president.
In a system where two parties control politics, there is little to no opportunity for “rogue” candi- dates to be nominated for president by their party. Paul may demonstrate an exception to this, how- ever. Paul works well with other parties and reach- es voters that mainstream Republicans normally ignore. Of course, this is why grassroots-America likes Paul. In short, Paul appears to be the only Re- publican candidate who will have a chance of beat- ing the presumptive Democratic presidential can- didate, Hillary Clinton.
By Joe Carbonari
The Conservative Political Action Confer- ence sounds like fun – lots of energy, youth, and enthusiasm. Rand Paul won the straw poll again. Rand and Ron Paul, his father, have won the poll five of the last six years. CPAC has grown significantly and seems to lean more Libertarian than Family Values. Socially, I find them entertaining.
I like their “leave me alone to do as I wish” views, and the “I’ll pay the consequences my- self” sense of personal responsibility, but I think they may underplay the value of leading, rather than reacting, to world affairs. Like a gas, chaos ... or evil, if you wish, tends to fill a vacuum. Civil disorder is a precursor. There is some serious disorder going on. We need to get it under control.
International intervention is dicey. We think we have a moral right, perhaps even an existential one, to intervene. Others may dis- agree; the Russians, the Chinese, the Iranians, and so on. They have their own viewpoints. The people we send to advance and to protect our interests better be good.
A surprising amount of how the world turns still seems to ride on the personalities at the top. Let’s pick carefully who we send to deal with the “Putins” of the world. Rand Paul would not be my first choice. I’d like a stronger mix of street smarts and diplomacy. Someone calm, but tough. Let’s keep looking.
Thoughts on CPAC
GUESTCOLUMN | VariousRepublicanlawmakers
Big Sky Health is Montana Answer for Health Care
We recently introduced our Big Sky Health package, which was developed over two years to ad- dress our state’s most serious healthcare concerns. Montanans have spoken loud and clear, for years, that they don’t want to accept overreaching feder- al healthcare programs like Obamacare. Instead, Montanans want a solution that works for our state’s unique population. Our state continues – rightly – to push back on implementing Obamacare – despite strong lobbying from national groups and our gov- ernor. The governor continues to falsely put a made- in-Montana label on a made-in-DC policy. His way is the lazy way. Simply take orders from Washington and be happy with the “free” money.
It would be similarly lazy to simply refuse all federal money, but that will not get any work done. Instead we worked hard to develop a Montana solu- tion to improve our healthcare system for the great- est number of people by carefully utilizing limited federal funds, while at the same time keeping our state budget and healthcare systems sustainable.
Our Montana-based response to Medicaid ex- pansion is to focus on those populations who are currently falling through the gap. This includes the disabled, low-income parents, and veterans. While the governor and his Obamacare cheerleaders have insisted on an all-or-nothing approach, voting against our plan would mean the most vulnerable continue to fall through the cracks. Our plan keeps our taxpayer dollars focused on Montana’s most vulnerable.
Washington, DC would like us to believe that their approach is best. They have also told us that expanding Medicaid will increase healthcare em-
ployment in our state. This, again, is false. Those 25 states who have expanded federal Medicaid are now facing financial distress, and claims of greater em- ployment have been proven inaccurate.
All of the information coming to light nationally only makes it more obvious that a state-based solu- tion is badly needed.
Big Sky Health ensures that our existing pro- grams work efficiently and preserve the safety net for the most vulnerable citizens. We will also de- mand serious fraud prevention and oversight of so- cial welfare programs.
Big Sky Health involves stepping back and find- ing innovative solutions for reducing the bureau- cracy and red tape that make health care services more expensive, while making hospital costs and purchasing decisions more transparent.
Finally, the community mental health section of Big Sky Health funds and improves local mental health services, and has received wide bipartisan support. By serving mental health needs in commu- nity facilities instead of statewide institutions, we will cut down on repeat hospitalizations and reduce costs. Both parties came together to show over- whelming support for these initiatives.
Big Sky Health goes a long way in improving Montana’s health care system and deserves the se- rious consideration of the people, Montana’s 64th Legislative body, and the Governor’s signature. Like mental health reform, let’s come together to give our state the Montana health care solution they deserve.
Sen. Fred Thomas, Rep. Art Wittich, Rep. Nancy Ballance, Rep. Ron Ehli, Sen. Matt Rosendale, and Sen. Cary Smith