Page 27 - Flathead Beacon // 10.26.16

LETTERS
Join Me in Supporting Dave Fern
I have known David Fern for many years, now both personally and as a cli- ent of his business. I have also followed his many years on the White sh School Board and witnessed his leadership there. Throughout all of his activities and business he has demonstrated excellent judgment and integrity. Above all though, I have come to rely on the fact that he does what he says he will do. Please join me in voting for David Fern for Montana House District 5 when you ll out your ballot!
Mike Jenson White sh
Perhaps Donald Trump Should Look in the Mirror
Well, Donald Trump is claiming that he is being treated unfairly and the elec- tion is rigged against him. Let’s see. To make things more fair perhaps we should set the clock back to 1993 and subject him to a continuous smear campaign that lasts until the present day. Perhaps we should gain access to Republican National Com- mittee emails and make them public. Perhaps we should turn back the clock to prior to the Republican nominating con- vention and have the media provide equal coverage of Hillary Clinton’s and Donald Trump’s campaign rallies from then to now (CNN states that it erred in covering Donald Trump’s speaking engagements to a much greater extent than Hillary Clintons). We could also engage a foreign power to in uence the election by hack- ing Republican emails and sending overt and subtle hints about how dangerous the world will be with Donald Trump and how much better things would be with Hillary Clinton. These things might bal- ance things out and make the election campaign more fair.
Hey Donald – get real! If you feel that things are going badly perhaps you should look in the mirror for the reason.
Charles Davis Columbia Falls
Support Sanderfur for Fairness and Decency
Last week, our home received another political mailing. Nothing di erent about that in this political season, except the mailing came from Jake Eaton, “Trea- surer of STOPSETEMFREESANDER- FUR” in Billings. The mailing borders (if it doesn’t crossover) the line into legal slander. A search reveals that Eaton’s “business operation” most likely vac- uums up loads of “out-of-state money” to fund such attack ads. All Montanans should cast shame on the people who treat our political system with such disre- spect, simply for the money and to win at any cost, the rules of decency be damned.
Dirk Sanderfur has served the public as a District Court judge for more than a decade and is respected across the polit- ical aisle. Kristen Juras should be rebut- ting this attack on Dirk Sanderfur. There is no place for such nasty attack ads in Montana’s Supreme Court races. Hope- fully, voters will see beyond the nasti- ness of this attack and appreciate Dirk
Sanderfur’s years of public service.
I personally urge folks to cast their vote for Sanderfur in the Supreme Court’s contested race. This mailing is, very sim- ply, a step beyond Montana’s traditions of
employer I have a vested interest in pro- viding good-paying jobs, and Greg Gian- forte has the same passion. He has cre- ated hundreds of jobs; indeed he has cre- ated $100,000-a-year jobs. When he says he will recruit and create good-paying jobs for Montana, he doesn’t discrimi- nate between union and nonunion. He is a savvy self-made businessman; he started with nothing and bootstrapped his way to a billion dollar business. My friends, not all of us have this skillset. Greg has shown his business acumen and has the right reasons for running for governor. He is not a career politician and has a deep desire to serve you and I. He understands and lives our Montana values: he’s good man, loves our state, is a conservationist, and is solid on the Second Amendment.
Before we can focus on any other issues facing Montana, we must secure our future and that of our children by ensuring we have good-paying jobs. We have a chance to make a di erence in this election; hire the right man for the job. Elect Greg Gianforte.
Don “K” Kaltschmidt White sh
Hartman Far Better Choice for Senate District 3
Local politics really do matter in our daily lives. In Montana Senate District 3, we can vote for someone who has a record of voting only for the interests of the wealthiest among us, or we can vote for someone who can and will make a di er- ence in the lives of local families who need it most. Melissa Hartman is running for Senate District 3. She is a licensed clini- cal social worker with a master’s degree and a history of providing help and assis- tance to local families who often have few or no resources. I know her from her work on a local non-pro t board I serve on, the White sh Animal Group (WAG), where she was one of the most thought- ful, productive and innovative people on the board.
The di erence between Melissa Hart- man and her opponent (who is termed out in the Montana House of Represen- tatives) could not be starker. One candi- date will work for people who need help the most in this district, and one most de nitely will not. Much of District 3 is rural working people who live paycheck to paycheck. They are good people who desperately need just a little help to get by. The Medicaid expansion bill, SB 405, gave just such assistance to thousands of Montanans, including veterans, who make under $15,000 per year. Melissa’s opponent voted against this bill in 2015. Her opponent also thinks unlimited and undisclosed private money given to cam- paigns is just ne, so in 2013 he voted against overturning Citizens United, probably the worst U.S. Supreme Court decision in U.S. history. Her opponent voted for tax credits for private schools, taking money away from public schools. Enough is enough. Melissa Hartman is the far better choice, why would you not want to vote for her?
Jim Lockwood White sh
Throwing Away My Traps
Nature has always fascinated me. I admired my father and my uncles and their outdoor skills. As schoolboys, my father and his brothers ran a trapline between their farm and school. I caught my rst raccoons when I was 8. By 12, I was running a trapline before school, as my dad had done.
A trapping magazine came every month. Books teaching trapping meth- ods were read and reread. Nevertheless, I caught animals and birds by mistake. The animals that drowned took over 10 minutes to die. I killed live animals with a blow to the head. I avoided think- ing of their hours of desperate struggle or their physical pain from a cut to the bone. Finding a foot in a trap was merely a disappointment for me. Just a part of trapping.
At 16, a curious change occurred. I began releasing the live animals. “Too small” or “not prime”, I told myself. The real reason was that I had started hunt- ing. I realized that I could still enjoy nature and be motivated to learn the habits of animals and waterfowl. Knowl- edgeable outdoorsmen were eager to pass on their wisdom and respect for wildlife without illogical contradictions. The cruel disrespect for animals inherent in trapping and impossible to avoid while trapping were within my control as a hunter. I have hunted for over 60 years. I have never regretted throwing away my traps. Please vote yes on I-177.
Bob Stone Polson
Vote to Approve I-177
This letter is a reference to Initiative I-177 dealing with trapping on public land.
Just imagine the pain an animal caught in a trap experiences when it chews o it’s paw or leg. It’s a pain that most humans can’t even comprehend. Imagine that animal trying to defend itself from another predator while it’s leg is caught in a trap.
Most trappers have no doubt read Ini- tiative I-177 and know that is has nothing to do with hunting and it has nothing to do with shing. They only bring this up as a scare tactic.
As a citizen of Montana, do you want trappers to keep their traps on their own private property, or do you want them to set traps on your public land?
I have a T-shirt that reads “Get a feel for fur: Slam your ngers in a car door for 96 hours.
Please vote to approve Initiative I-177.
Charlotte Heldstab White sh
fairness and decency.
Tom Harding White sh
Putting the National Debt in Perspective
With all the smoke, chatter and mir- rors thrown up over the coming election, overriding everything is one word: DEBT. In just 7 1/2 years, President Barack Obama has managed to double the fed- eral debt, adding more debt in his one term than all other presidents combined since our founding! To put this into per- spective, so that there can be no doubt what this means to our future:
U.S. tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000 . Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000
New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000 National debt: $19,271,000,000,000 Recent budget cuts: $ 38,500,000,000
Let’s now remove eight zeros and pre- tend it’s a household budget:
Annual family income: $21,700 Money the family spent: $38,200 New debt on the credit card: $16,500 Outstanding balance on the credit
card: $192,710
Total budget cuts so far: $38.50
So, when a candidate calls for more spending, always couched as “invest- ment,” understand what a disaster this is for our country. Only two choices then remain: The federal government defaults on repayment, or prints enough money to make the payment. Germany tried the latter in 1921-1924. Google “Ger- many Hyperin ation” and you will get the picture.
Nick Chickering White sh
Gianforte Has Business Acumen to be Great Governor
Rarely do we have an opportunity to have someone in the governor’s mansion with the unique skills that Greg Gian- forte possesses. In a recent opinion piece I wrote I discussed the demise of good, working-class families. Salvaging our working class is critical to our economic future. The most crucial race this fall impacting Montana families is the gov- ernor’s race.
We currently have a governor who is ill-equipped to prevent the demise of our working class. Gov. Brian Schweitzer and our Republican-led Legislature left Gov. Steve Bullock with a $300 million surplus that has greatly diminished on his watch. He inherited the No. 1 scally prudent state in the nation; Montana is now No. 26 under the governor’s term. To add to that we are 49th in wages in the entire country! This is not a track record that will create good-paying jobs ensur- ing more Montana families can live the Montana dream.
While our unemployment rate may have recovered from the recession, our wages have not. Greg understands a good job is one that pays a living wage. As an
OCTOBER 26, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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