Page 30 - Flathead Beacon // 9.7.16
P. 30

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
TWO FOR THOUGHT SAME TOPIC, DIFFERENT VIEWS PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY
CLARE MENZEL
A DOG’S TALE
WHEN I WAS 10 YEARS OLD, MY FAMILY went to a neighbor’s house and picked from a litter of golden retriever puppies one  oppy, fuzzy fellow to bring home. Then we sat down to brainstorm. Our neighbors had been calling the puppy Scooter, which was cute enough, but we wanted to give our new family member a thoughtful name that meant something special.
After many, many shot-down ideas, we agreed on Kip, the name of a character in a Jan Brett chil- dren’s book. Kip the Cave Boy befriends a wolf, and when they learn they can survive the harsh Pleis- tocene days better together, Paleowolf becomes the  rst dog. It was a story we’d read again and again as kids, one favorite of many.
Even those of us who don’t love dogs do love dog stories. Dogs are faithful and kind and sel ess— thus stories about dogs are often triumphs of loy- alty, tests of fortitude, or expressions of profound friendship. A story about dogs can believably be about pure, unironic goodness.
There’s the story of Argos, among the  rst dogs mentioned in Western literature, who waits dil- igently as his master Odysseus  ghts overseas. Over 20 years, Argos grows old and frail, but he hangs on. When Odysseus  nally returns safely, Argos “ful ll[s] his destiny of faith” and dies in peace. There’s the poodle in John Steinbeck’s “Travels with Charley: In Search of America,” an archetypal “man’s best friend,” and a source of comfort and e ortless companionship for Stein- beck. Then there’s Buck, the sled dog in Jack Lon- don’s “The Call of the Wild,” who learns to per- severe masterfully in the unforgiving great white North.
The stories of real dogs capture us, too—here at the Beacon, we’ve written about Gracie, the “bark ranger” helping reduce human-wildlife interac- tions in Glacier National Park; Jett, the avalanche dog who works with ski patrol on Big Mountain; and Gus, a local golden who has ranked nationally in  eld trial sports while  ghting cancer.
This week’s cover story by Tristan Scott fea- tures canine characters, too, but it’s not as heartening as most dog stories. With few reg- ulations for commercial pet breeders in Mon- tana, hundreds of animals have been exploited in “puppy mills,” where breeders produce a steady, unhealthy stream of pups for commercial sale. It’s gut-wrenching to see such sweet, forgiving crea- tures neglected or harmed. But as much as it’s a story about tragedy, it’s also about resilience and tenacity. It’s so easy to see the in uence of dogs on the human volunteers, advocates, and lawmakers in Scott’s story, as they  ght with Argos-like ded- ication, Charley-like tenderness, and Buck-like toughness to make a change.
Scott’s story comes on the heels of the discov- ery of neglected dogs at puppy mills in the Mis- sion Valley, Eureka, Libby, and Plains. Many of these dogs, now being cared for by volunteers, need a new home. If you’re so inclined, reach out to your local animal shelter or the Life Savers Ani- mal Rescue (call Lynette at 270-7072) to inquire about adoption. You might just  nd a dog that will make your own story better.
BY TIM BALDWIN
A New York Post author recently wrote about Hil-
lary’s “pay to play” scandal: “Unless you’re a high-rank- ing government o cial, it’s hard to get a meeting with any secretary of state. But during Hillary Clinton’s tenure, there was another way: pay up.” So how does Hillary’s less-than-honest reputation a ect the election?
Bernie Sanders became popular partly for his reputa- tion for honesty. Clinton is a stark contrast and is right in the middle of appearances of impropriety. The notable “pay to play” scandal is only a highlight. Naturally, Clin- ton denies this was her intent.
While plausible deniability works well for politicians, ordinary citizens are denied this privilege. Every day, our governments prosecute people on circumstances sug- gesting criminal intent. Montana statute de nes know- ingly: “a person acts knowingly with respect to conduct or to a circumstance ... when the person is aware of the person’s own conduct or that the circumstance exists.” De nitions of intent apply harshly to ordinary citizens, but elite politicians avoid not only prosecution but eligi- bility for high o ce.
Regardless, Americans will vote for Clinton. Many of them are diehard Democrats. Others simply hate Trump. Like Americans who will vote for Trump because they hate Clinton, presumably millions will vote for Clinton because they Trump. Our next president may simply be the least hated of the two. Caveat: unless Gary Johnson is allowed to enter the debates, in which case, millions may abandon both Clinton and Trump.
GUEST COLUMN RANDY COWGER HOW FAIR IS UBER?
T
Deregulation means remove regulations. When they passed this bill and our governor signed it, they weren’t very forthcoming in what they were doing. This is their idea of deregulation. Remove all the reg- ulations for Uber and leave all the regulations in place for the taxi companies, except one. The taxi compa- nies still have to pay fees to cities, counties, airports, public service commission, the state, unemployment, and workers comp. Uber has to pay none of these. You would think that a company like Uber that is valued at $66 billion would be able to compensate Montana a little bit in order to operate.
The one part of the bill they did remove from the taxis was to get rid of the monopoly that taxis have on their industry. Even that is a misnomer. Our Legisla- ture saw a problem in that anyone could start a taxi company and thus saturate the market so that no one company made any money. They made rules that would allow a successful company to protect their business by challenging upstarts. They had a veto power. They took this away and made it so that all you have to do to start a taxi company is to apply and show compli- ance. When I started Glacier Taxi I took everything out of my retirement accounts. There is nothing left. With the changes to this bill, my taxi company is vir- tually worthless. It would be hard to sell. Why pay any amount of money to buy a taxi company when all you have to do is spend $250 to start your own. There are others in the state who have paid much more than me
BY JOE CARBONARI
The problem with Hillary Clinton is that she is
not perfect. She su ers from being subject to human nature, but is reluctant to admit it. Take her emails. She wanted privacy; she got unending scrutiny. Why not just say it was a bad idea, poorly thought through, take her lumps and move on? That she could survive. Losing the trust of the people, how- ever, makes it hard to lead should she win. This does not serve our country well, though I hasten to say that she still is preferable to the alternative.
We, the people, shouldn’t expect perfection either. Life constantly presents us with the neces- sity to determine and to accept the best of imperfect alternatives. We compromise. We do not expect per- fection. We weigh and accept risks.
Take the con icts of interest associated with political pay-for-play. In uence is power, but access is required. That’s what networking is about. You can work your way in or you can buy your way in. Buying your way in is quicker. The Clinton Foun- dation, unfortunately, has provided an open door. The causes it advances are laudable. Its works are worthy of support, but it must not be the will call window for political favors. It is unseemly. It is time to close the door on this one.
We will continue to court those in power, and we will continue to grant access to those that we know and trust, but good sense should guard the door. Discretion is required.
who are in this same situation.
Uber doesn’t have to have signs on their cars, but all
the taxis do. This is in order that you know who you are riding with. It also makes it easy to spot people who are trying to operate illegally. A sign doesn’t cost very much, but evidently Uber doesn’t have enough to pay for them.
The last is insurance. When a taxi company insures a car, it stays insured 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Uber has made a sweet deal where they only have to insure while the driver is under the app (has accepted a fare) and even then there are questions about whether they will be covered in case of an accident. If the taxi companies were to have insurance that was only in place if the vehicle were being used, that could save the taxi companies a lot of money.
Lastly there is an issue of independent contractors that Uber can hire. In the state of Montana if you are an independent contractor, you have to register with the Department of Labor as one. There is a biannual fee of $125. Uber is exempt from this, written into the bill. There are countless people all across the state who should be really upset about this, such as carpen- ters, truck drivers, carpet layers, the list goes on and on. Why is it that a company worth as much money as Uber is exempt from all this. It is almost as though they paid someone o  to get all these breaks.
One last thing, with all the breaks that have been given to this out-of-state company that is worth all that money, do you think they will be reinvesting any of it back into the state of Montana?
Randy Cowger owns Glacier Taxi.
HE BILL PASSED BY OUR REPRESENTATIVES in Montana to deregulate the taxi industry isn’t
very fair. Judge for yourself.
30
SEPTEMBER 7, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM


































































































   28   29   30   31   32