Page 30 - Flathead Beacon // 12.14.16

LIKE I WAS SAYIN’
TWO FOR THOUGHT SAME TOPIC, DIFFERENT VIEWS RUSSIA’S INFLUENCE ON THE ELECTION
KELLYN BROWN
GRIT AND CURIOSITY
EVER SINCE ATTENDING ALAN SHEPARD ELE- mentary School, I’ve been fascinated by space and those who explore it.
Shepard was the rst American to leave Earth’s atmosphere and my small school (home of the Rockets) in Bourbonnais, Illinois, was named after him. Shep- ard, a naval o cer, blazed a trail alongside John Glenn, a Marine, fellow test pilot, and rst American astronaut to orbit the Earth.
Shepard died in 1998. Glenn died last week at 95. Along with serving in the military and for NASA, Glenn was an Ohio U.S. senator from 1974 though 1999. While still in the Senate, he became the oldest person to go into space when he boarded the Discovery shuttle at age 77.
Today, American astronauts mostly serve in ano- nymity. Instead, we know more about NASA’s tech- nological feats, such as landing the Curiosity rover on Mars and transmitting photos of dying stars from the Hubble Space Telescope. Another telescope, James Webb, is scheduled to launch in 2018. It cost $8.8 bil- lion, has been in the works for more than 20 years, and will be the most powerful space telescope ever built.
It’s unclear when another man or woman will travel as far, or farther, than Americans did between 1969 and 1972 when a dozen astronauts, including Shepard and Glenn, walked on the moon.
Since the NASA Space Shuttle program was retired in 2011, the Orion spacecraft has been under development and several private entities have lled the void, such as SpaceX, which in 2012 became the rst private space- craft to berth with the International Space Station.
Earlier this year, SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced that he not only wants to go to Mars, but col- onize it as well. The trip will take just over three months and cost about $200,000 per person. First, he hopes to launch a capsule to its surface in 2018. He acknowledges that the colonization of the Red Planet remains decades away.
What’s the point of spending so much time and money to travel to an uninhabitable place? Why look for life on somewhere other than Earth?
It’s the Mars rover’s namesake: curiosity.
Glenn said it best in a 2008 interview: “Every bit of human progress, that’s ever been made, occurred because somebody was curious about doing things in a new or di erent or combination-with-something-else way.”
Times, indeed, have changed since astronauts like Glenn and Shepard rst launched toward the stars. During the space race fueled by the Cold War with Rus- sia, these men were considered heroes. They risked their lives for the sake of discovery and united a country with a common goal.
Lest we forget, there are still Americans in space. Scott Kelly returned home in March of this year after spending a year aboard the International Space Sta- tion orbiting the Earth alongside Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko. I followed Kelly’s journey from the ground, immersed in the photographs he shared from more than 200 miles above.
Science ction has, in many ways, overshadowed the fact that researchers and scientists in the real world are still exploring. And much of the foundation for that exploration was built by those rst astronauts our par- ents knew by name.
They weren’t actors. And they at once showed us how much we can accomplish with a combination of grit and curiosity.
BY TIM BALDWIN
The CIA said that it believes Russia helped Trump
win the election by releasing information about Hil- lary Clinton to Wikileaks. Assuming Russia released hacked information to Wikileaks, the CIA’s assump- tion is not supported by the facts and recent political history.
Most people in America did not need Russia or Wikileaks to inform them that Hillary is untrust- worthy and – stated more bluntly – corrupt. The movement Trump captured and used began during (and even before) the primary elections. Trump trounced the established and crowded Republicans choices. This movement continued into the general election.
In some ways, Trump’s success was a continua- tion of the conservative movements in the recent past: Moral Majority, Contract with America, Ron Paul Revolution and Tea Party. In some, more sub- tle ways, it was a continuation of Bernie Sanders’ anti-corruption movement.
Trump didn’t need Russia’s help to win. He won handily, even in states that the global corporate media never believed (or never stated) would go his way. Like Trump or not, Trump’s election re ects a deep and long-seated frustration and resentment Americans have developed for decades with career federal politicians who have more in mind than America’s best interest. In short, Hillary can blame herself and others like her for Trump’s election.
BY JOE CARBONARI
Donald Trump will be our next president. The ques-
tion is: did the Russians interfere with our electoral process in a signi cant way? Even more important to ask is: could they, and would they, if so disposed? Most importantly, what can we do about it?
The Russians have a history of meddling in elec- tions around the world. We also have made some sig- ni cant e orts to a ect outcomes, in what we con- sider acceptable ways. Putin feels that we meddled unduly in Russia’s 2011 elections and helped foment the anti-Putin demonstrations which marked it. We feel that our e orts were acceptable.
The ability to hack nearly anybody and anything is held by a number of nation states and some dis- turbingly competent freelancers. The actual hacking can be disguised but not fully hidden. How the “take” from the hacking is used is what is in question. The Russians have plowed new ground in this area.
They clearly favored Trump over Hillary Clin- ton in our election. Did their e orts make the di er- ence? Hard to say. It was close. Three critical states barely broke for Trump: Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio. Russian e orts may not have been su cient to make the di erence, but in an even tighter election they obviously could. Pretending they cannot is a dis- service to ourselves and to the world. We must take actions to control and to counter our vulnerabilities. Trump comes with warning signals. They are not ridiculous and they should not be ignored.
GUEST COLUMN FRANK GARNER
GOVERNOR SHOWS LACK OF RESPECT FOR PATROL
I
I also know how hard it is to serve as a police o cer in this day and age. At a time when some have chosen to disrespect the service of those who wear a badge, I was disappointed that no one from the governor’s o ce had the foresight to contact the Highway Patrol to let them know that they weren’t on the governor’s list of funding priorities. It is concerning to me that many of these Troopers learned of this proposal, like many of us, by reading it in the newspaper. It doesn’t send them the message that their service is valued.
In my opinion, this was a phone call that these fam- ilies deserved and it’s a call that that should have been made by the governor to that department. That lack of respect for the service of these men and women is something that has the potential to impact recruit- ment and retention in the future as well as morale for the men and women who will be working today and tonight across our state.
Twenty-two of these 27 positions are currently lled
with esh and blood o cers, many of whom are in or are nearly nishing their initial training after commit- ting to serving the department. I am sure they must question why it doesn’t appear the governor applied the same sharp knife to cuts in his own o ce and I don’t believe any of his sta will lose their jobs.
Just days after Sergeant Bennet and Trooper Winchell of the Highway Patrol received awards for bravery in the line of duty and a few days before the department mourned the anniversary of the death of Trooper David DeLaittre, these o cers are left to won- der about their future. They must wonder if we care enough about their mission to set aside politics and show them the same respect and commitment that we expect from them in guarding our safety.
I want to be clear about sending a strong message to the men and woman of the Montana Highway Patrol in letting them know that I and many of my colleagues place a high value on them, their families and their ser- vice. We are eternally grateful for their commitment to our state and we will work tirelessly to ensure they have the people and tools to accomplish their mission. In a session where di cult decisions will need to be made we will place a high value on the important public safety role of the Highway Patrol and one that re ects the respect we have for you.
Thank you to the members of the Montana Highway Patrol for your service and please know that there are many of us in the Legislature that will do all we can to support you in your mission.
Godspeed, John Glenn.
Frank Garner is a state representative from Kalispell and former police chief.
WAS DISAPPOINTED TO LEARN RECENTLY THAT Gov. Steve Bullock has proposed cutting 27 posi-
tions from the Highway Patrol as part of his budget proposal for the upcoming biennium. As a former police o cer and police chief, I recognize the public safety impacts that a proposal like this would have. It is my strong opinion that this proposal would have a disas- trous impact on public safety in an era where highway deaths are increasing on our Interstate highways and at a time when rural Montana is increasingly dependent on our Troopers to keep their communities safe.
30
DECEMBER 14, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM