Page 36 - Flathead Beacon // 7.9.14

36 | JULY 9, 2014
LIKE I WAS SAYIN’ Kellyn Brown
Meet Xavier
OUR SUMMER INTERN RECENTLY BEGAN working here. It’s the first time we have filled the position with someone who didn’t attend the Uni- versity of Montana or have ties to the Flathead. Xavier Flo- ry knows a lot about soccer, speaks five languages and has lived in four different countries. He’s only 21.
Xavier arrived in the Flathead with no car or place to stay. A coworker picked him up from the airport and dropped him off at the Super 8 hotel. On his first day of work he quickly mentioned how nice you all are. Here’s why:
The day before his internship began, Xavier needed to get an eye exam and find the residence in which he would be temporarily staying (he found this place on a website that allows you to connect with people who allow you to couchsurf).
With no mode of transportation, Xavier decided to walk from Super 8, which is located on the south end of Ka- lispell, to Costco, on the north end, with all his luggage. I regret not seeing this six-foot, two-inch young man rolling his large suitcase north on U.S. Highway 93. Luckily, one of you did.
The driver of a pickup pulled over to give him a lift. Once finished with his exam, Xavier then began heading toward U.S. Highway 2 on Reserve Street to find this couch he would be surfing on for a couple days – for those unfa- miliar with the area, this is an extremely long walk on a busy road. Once again, someone pulled over to pick him up and drove him to his destination.
So, I guess, Xavier’s first impression of the area is un- surprising. “The people are overwhelmingly nice,” he says in unidentifiable accent influenced by his time in Belgium, Austria, England and the United States.
Despite his time abroad, Xavier is quick to point out his American roots. He was born in Washington, D.C. and homeschooled on a Virginia farm with his five siblings be- fore moving abroad with his family. His father works for the government, which explains all the moving.
How he ended up here is unusual. The Kelly Writers House at the University of Pennsylvania offered to pay for an internship at the Beacon. We agreed. Xavier applied. And two weeks later he was planning his 10-week stay in Montana.
Like most visitors here, Xavier is overwhelmed by the landscape. Following his first day of work, we ran the Rails to Trails together. I couldn’t keep up and promptly lost sight of him. He kept running toward the rolling hills west of Kalispell and when he finally returned to town, he said, “It’s so beautiful, I just kept going.”
And that, in a way, sums up Xavier’s time here so far. He just keeps going and exploring the way many of us did when we first arrived in Northwest Montana.
“The clarity of Lake McDonald is amazing,” he says. And it is. But we forget how amazing it is when compared to water in places like Philadelphia.
Xavier’s disposition is admirable. He assumes he will get where he needs to be – whether on foot, bike, or a stranger’s car – and wanders around the valley with the enthusiasm of seeing something new for the first time. Ask him about his weekend and he will tell you, “it was awesome,” then list all the activities he squeezed in over a couple days. Many of them are typical summer excursions in Northwest Montana, except there’s an excitement that somehow makes his better.
But perhaps the most encouraging part of Xavier’s short time here is how he describes many of you. Those of you who picked him up in your car, gave him a couch to sleep on and have generally pointed him in the right direc- tion. Thanks for that.
OPINION FLATHEADBEACON.COM
TWO FOR THOUGHT
Same Topics, Opposing Views
The Situation in Iraq, Continued
By Joe Carbonari
A group that has been fighting against the Assad government in Syria has as its primary mission the establishment of a strict Islamist state in traditional Sunni areas of what is now Syria and Iraq. They are called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). They’ve been fighting in both Syria and Iraq for the last couple of years with some significant success. In June they made a well-coordinated run in north-cen- tral Iraq and captured large amounts of terri- tory, including Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul.
Government forces melted away, and the lo- cals, mostly Sunnis, tended to be neutral to wel- coming. The result is a newly declared Islamist state, with strict Sharia Islamist law and a re- quirement to swear allegiance or face execution – both mass killings and beheadings have been reported.
The newly announced Islamic state’s ruler, the Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is the past head of Al Qaeda in Iraq, described as a battle- field fighter and tactician. He took on the cur- rent Al Qaeda forces fighting in Syria, went his own way, and now ISIS is considered as the up- and-coming terrorist organization, eclipsing even Al Qaeda in growth and importance.
ISIS must be stopped. It is building a cadre of thousands of experienced, dedicated fighters who will be an on-going threat, worldwide, for years to come. We can lead, but only diplomati- cally. After all, it’s their sandbox.
By Tim Baldwin
How many evils in the world must Ameri- ca stop? One could look around the world and see atrocities “worthy” of stopping every- where. But should America use its force as a sovereign nation to stop every evil that ex- ists in the world? And is the object of all these wars really justice, or is there something else at play?
Reality is, many are pushing our wars and international entanglements around the world for economic interests, not justice. For example, Rush Limbaugh said on June 24, 2014, “[the United States military] serves as an umbrella of safety for world commerce. This is what a superpower takes on as a re- sponsibility.” He continued, saying, “When we retreat from the world and bring our mili- tary with us, there are negative economic consequences worldwide.”
This foreign policy has kept the United States in perpetual war in the world for de- cades and forces America to enter into trea- ties and union-type agreements with other nations, which bind and limit our sovereign- ty. It puts America in precarious situations – ones that threaten us on our own soil. I prefer America not use our military to enrich bank- ers and global corporates, especially when we can’t even secure our own border from illegal aliens at home.
GUESTCOLUMN | PatWitkowski
Gold Enough for Everyone
Montana is dangerously exposed to serious en- vironmental and economic challenges. Of the lower 48, Montana is the third largest in area, the sixth smallest in population, and the second lowest in population density. Increasing population, increas- ing illegal immigration, increasing scarcity of water, seasonally poor air quality, toxic wastes, heightened risks from wildfires, forest deterioration, losses of soil and its nutrients, damage from introduced pest species, and the federal government owning one quarter of the land in the state, challenge Montana on a daily, unrelenting and expanding basis. While Montana is beautiful, it is an agriculturally non- competitive land. Low rainfall resulting in lower rates of plant growth makes Montana produce and livestock more expensive than other food and live- stock producing areas of the U.S. Irrigation is the largest consumptive water use in Montana. About 15 percent of Montana’s cropland and pastureland is irrigated. The Clark Fork is the largest river by vol- ume in Montana. Nearly 40 percent of all irrigated lands in the Clark Fork basin are located in the Flat- head River watershed.
The reality of the western United States is that water is clearly the new gold. And Montanans need to have their precious gold under close administra- tion, protection and control. Accordingly, the state- house and legislators in Helena and Montana’s rep- resentatives in Washington DC, along with various state and federal courts should be working in con- cert with Montanans to ensure 100 percent state control of Montana’s water. Montana’s elected of- ficials need to be proactive agents armed with the political will and the vision to create and adjudicate
equitable, innovative approaches to quantify water use, establish water banks for farmers or irrigators, protect land deed water rights, replace the cradling and crushing reservation system in the state, and thereby giving aboriginal cultures independence from ineffectual and rapacious federal agencies and opiating and unsustainable federal subsidies, and nurture the proactive participation of all citizens.
Montanans must marshal and muster all forc- es, might and right to make Montana magnificent. Montanans must insist that PPL withdraw the CKST purchase option for Kerr Dam. Keep the oper- ation of the dam under the aegis of the citizens and expand opportunities for new citizen shareholders. Montanans must insist that Helena put the feds on notice that the only correct action in Missoula Ju- dicial District Division court is to dismiss the latest “end around” by the aboriginal culture - CKST V. UNITED STATES.
Water is the key and it belongs equally to all Montanans. Reduce federal ownership of Montana. Stop federal overreach on all fronts. Neither Hele- na nor the federal government can enter into com- pacts that create loss of equal protection under the law for its citizens. Make water a revenue source for all Montanans. Montana’s citizens deserve equality in standing as to Montana’s natural resources, an equality that takes account of the weight of Mon- tana’s challenges associated with sustaining eco- nomic growth and becoming stewards of Montana’s fragile and exposed environmental issues. Only through equality can Montanans muster the intel- lectual and emotional mettle to finally break free of the federal stranglehold and survive as a great state.