Page 30 - Flathead Beacon // 8.31.16

LIKE I WAS SAYIN’
TWO FOR THOUGHT SAME TOPIC, DIFFERENT VIEWS POLITICAL EXPRESSION
KELLYN BROWN
THE BIG LAKE
ATSUNAMI IS POSSIBLE ON FLATHEAD Lake. Tom Bansak, a research scientist at Flathead Lake Biological Station, said as much in a column published last year. The largest lake in the West is on a geological fault, which has resulted in periodical quakes.
Bansak pointed out that, technically, an event similar to a tsunami on a lake is called a seiche. The results, however, are similar.
“If there were major movement along the Mission Fault resulting in landslides or sudden lake bottom downdropping, waves of water would travel across the lake and then slosh back and forth,” Bansak wrote. “The size of the earthquake, downdropping or landslide would determine the size of the waves.”
Chances are, they would be large, because Flat- head Lake often acts more like an ocean than a lake. It’s that big. And its vastness was apparent as I hopped on a friend’s boat earlier this month at Somers Bay.
What began as calm water quickly changed its mood. And as soon as we reached open water, the waves were splashing above the bow and soaking several members of our boating party who covered themselves in blankets. We headed to the aptly named Peaceful Bay and found some solace from the choppy waters and waited out the wind.
A friend of the captain wasn’t so lucky. He had chosen the wrong afternoon to try out his new sail- boat. Soon we were heading back to Somers Bay and found him standing on the vessel paddling against the waves, his mast detached by the unrelenting wind. Despite his struggle, he had a smile on his face as we threw him a rope, saving him from a few hours of inching to shore.
After dropping the sailor o at his dock, we headed back out. This time, we went for it. The waves had appeared to die down a bit, and lunch on the opposite side of the lake was planned in advance. We pointed the boat east. The ride to Woods Bay was a little rough. Some passengers covered themselves in blankets again, but we made it to The Raven, hop- ing that after the lunch hour the waters would calm.
It’s not unusual for the lake to act this way, con- ditions changing drastically from one hour to the next. A few years ago, during the Spring Mack Days shing tournament, ve-foot swells forced all but one boat in the competition o the lake.
The lone holdout: “He’s someone who knows the lake,” Cindy Benson of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes told the Missoulian. “And he moved someplace so they were out of the worst of it.”
Biological station researchers have measured the lake’s complex currents. Flathead is so large that even the earth’s rotation in uences how its water moves. Combine that with wind, stream inputs, water and air temperatures and lake conditions can change in a hurry.
When we nished our lunch, the whitecaps had subsided, but smoke from the Copper King re near Thompson Falls had blown in. We headed back west, as the sky darkened and visibility ebbed. When we reached the middle of the lake, neither other boats nor the shoreline was visible. Just calm water under a hot breeze.
A passenger, looking out into the abyss, said, “It feels like we’re on the ocean.” She was right. The lake often acts like one.
BY TIM BALDWIN
Unfettered political expression is necessary to
preserve a free society. John Stuart Mill said in On Liberty, “the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it.”
As we near the election, Trump supporters in par- ticular are working hard to silence political compe- tition, namely Gary Johnson because he is the only other presidential candidate that will be on every ballot and is steadily rising in popularity. They also want Johnson kept from the debates because they think Johnson will take votes from Trump. Yes, Johnson will, but he will also take votes from Clin- ton, perhaps more so.
Granted, the only viable options in presidential elections are normally either Republican or Demo- crat. But in 2016, this is not necessarily true, espe- cially if Johnson enters the televised debates. Many well-known Democrats and Republicans are openly not voting for Clinton or Trump and are support- ing Johnson. This will only increase with Johnson’s exposure.
If Republican and Democrat supporters want their candidate to win, they should choose better candidates. Suppressing political ideas is not the answer.
BY JOE CARBONARI
If good people do nothing, evil triumphs. Consider
how that applies to our political scene. “Everyone” gets to vote, but not “everyone” casts an informed vote. Many votes are based on emotion, miss-percep- tion, or outright lies. It is our responsibility to speak up when we know that others are being led astray. What people don’t know, or know in error, can hurt them ... and the rest of us.
Everyone has a right to hold their own opinion, and to share it, but that does not mean that all opinions are of the same value. Everyone’s vote, however, counts the same, and in our system most everyone has the right to vote. It can get messy, progress slowed, and su er- ing spread.
We often allow misstatements, occasionally clear untruths, to go unchallenged and gain acceptance. This is often accompanied by the demonization of that and those that we oppose. Once demonized, they can be rejected out of hand, along with their supporters. They may be marginalized, diminished in consider- ation and respect. It’s human nature.
We pick our spots when guiding our children in the niceties of grammar and manners. We can do the same with our political discourse. The aim is not to be disruptive, but rather informative. Seldom do we have full, in-depth knowledge of complex, major pol- icy issues. We need to turn to someone for guidance.
If you have the knowledge, it is your responsibility to give the guidance. If you don’t, consider who will.
GUEST COLUMN BILL FORDYCE
NO MOUNTAIN BIKES IN WILDERNESS
wilderness – BLM Lands, national forest lands and state lands. Where I live, there is a coalition of folks who gathered together to nd common ground on national forest land use. They are called the White- sh Range Partnership and this partnership consists of a diverse group of snowmobilers, loggers, mountain bikers, wilderness advocates, backcountry horsemen, private landowners and other special interest groups. They have collaborated to come to a mutual multi-use land plan for the White sh Range that satis es each of the groups. This agreement was reached by consensus ... unanimous agreement. Then, it was submitted as a proposal to the Flathead National Forest in its plan- ning process. No one got exactly what they wanted, but they came to an agreement that they could all live with and enjoy. I feel that future Wilderness designations will come about as a result of collaborative e orts and contain compromises to satisfy the various land use interests.
I’m hoping that the various mountain bike groups here in Montana realize what a precious place our Wil- derness Areas are and that they work to lead the way for other mountain bicycle groups to leave them alone. And, that they also lead the way to create new trails through collaboration with other groups. But I don’t want existing wilderness rules to change.
T
HIS IS A RESPONSE TO THE MOUNTAIN-BI- cycles-in-Wilderness e ort. First, a bit about
me – I have four bikes; a Specialized Allez road bike, an old Specialized Stump Jumper mountain bike, a Surly Pugsley fat tire bike, and a Surly Long Haul Trucker touring bike. I ride them all at various times. I live 30-plus miles from the nearest telephone pole. North of Polebridge, there is no electric grid. Part of each year, I spend several months living on top of a mountain as a forest re lookout looking for re. I write all of this to de ne what forms my thoughts.
I love to ride my fat tire bike back in the woods/ mountains where I’m allowed, and where I’m not allowed – I respect the rules of Wilderness. I love knowing Wilderness is there and is a constant sanc- tuary left the way it was and I hope that it always stays as it is. The attitude of the Sustainable Trails Organi- zation http://www.sustainabletrailscoalition.org and The International Mountain Bicycling Association https://www.imba.com/ remind me of a petulant child – one who is sitting in a supermarket cart full of nutri- tious food, who leans towards the candy display and screams “I want that.” A temper tantrum focusing not on what they have, only what they don’t have.
I say no bikes in existing Wilderness. There are so many more acres to ride bikes than designated
Bill Fordyce lives near Polebridge
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AUGUST 31, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM