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Don’t cut funds for long-term care patients
I am a resident in a nursing home in Eureka. I am very worried about my quality of care as there is an effort to reduce our Medicaid for long-term care. I have MS, diabetic, arthritis and can’t walk. I worked as a Superior Court clerk in San Diego with a leg brace, using a cane until I lost my eyesight in my left eye and had bathroom problems. I took a disability retirement after working 19 years. I only went on Medicaid after entering a nursing home.
My retirement is $41,200 a year with $50 a month for $600 yearly that I’m allowed to keep. With the $50 I pay for over-the-counter drugs, clothing, telephone, paper, stamps, haircuts, etc., or I go without. In prison, all these things plus better meals, total medical and dental coverage, computers in their cells, and many things that I have to pay for they get for free. The House added back $20 million in federal funds but without the state matching general funds we cannot use the federal money. The governor wants to use $10 million for highways. Aren’t people more important? We couldn’t help getting sick and old. Please don’t punish us. —Antoinette Newman, Eureka
Support direct raw milk sales in Montana
I respectfully submit that it is time to remove this antiquated ban on the sale of raw milk. Really it is just simply “milk”; anything else is altered milk. I have lived most of my life in the great state of Montana, and one thing I have always been proud of is the freedoms we enjoy in this state. We have always been free to enjoy beautiful, wholesome living in its most natural form. My friends and neighbors are intelligent, responsible individuals who are more than capable of assessing how their food choices impact their lives. I appreciate the fair and just laws of the land, but the current ban on raw milk sales is an insult to Montanans. We deserve more respect than this.
Please do the right thing and support HB 325 and promote a responsible, respectful society in our beautiful state. A vote against HB 325 is a vote of no confidence in the citizens of Montana. The freedom to buy and consume raw milk should be a fundamental God-given right as a natural outgrowth of the agricultural history that made this nation great. —Michael Wehrman, Somers
What has changed about Judge Gorsuch?
In 2006 the United States Senate unanimously confirmed Judge Neil Gorsuch to a seat on the federal 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, without dissent or criticism.
Sen. Tester, please inform Montana what Judge Gorsuch has done since 2006 to cause you to be unwilling to announce support for his confirmation now. What decisions has he written since 2006 that are unacceptable to you? What breaches of professional ethics has he committed since 2006 that cause you to withhold support?
Please tell Montana what has changed about Judge Gorsuch since 2006. If you cannot articulate and document any significant problems, then Judge Gorsuch deserves the same support from you now that the Senate gave him in 2006, support you should announce to Montana rather than playing political games. Reassure Montana that you work for us, and not for Chuck Schumer of New York. —Gary Marbut, Missoula, Montana Shooting Sports Association president
Senator says Gorsuch is a ‘supreme’ nominee
One of the most important votes a U.S. senator casts is a vote for a U.S. Supreme Court nominee. An associate justice for the Supreme Court is a lifetime appointment.
That’s why a decision on who to vote for, who to stand behind, and who to stand with is so important — not only to me but to our children and grandchildren.
We want a Supreme Court justice who upholds the rule of law and follows the Constitution.
We want a Supreme Court justice who doesn’t legislate from the bench.
We want a Supreme Court justice with superb academic credentials who is well-prepared to serve the American people on our highest court.
When President Trump announced that he was appointing Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court, the American people knew he was a supreme pick.
He is a brilliant legal mind who understands the role a judge plays in our justice system: to interpret the law and not legislate from the bench. On the night he was announced, I was thrilled to hear him say, “A judge who likes every outcome he reaches is very likely a bad judge, stretching for results he prefers rather than those the law demands.”
Judge Gorsuch has impeccable legal qualifications demonstrating that he will be the type of justice that every American deserves on our nation’s highest court. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in 1988. He graduated from Harvard Law School as a Harry Truman Scholar with honors in 1991. He attended Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar and received his Doctorate in Philosophy in 2004.
He has clerked for Justice Byron White and Justice Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States. And in 2006, Judge Gorsuch was nominated by President George Bush to the 10th Circuit in Denver, Colorado — he was confirmed without any opposition. Some of those Democrats who did not oppose included Harvard Law classmate Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
During his time as a judge on the 10th Circuit, he built a solid reputation as a respected jurist with a distinguished record. He has a consistent record of defending the Constitution, including respecting the separation of powers, federalism and the Bill of Rights to protect our government from overreach and abuse.
When I had the opportunity to sit down with Judge Gorsuch in my office, we spoke about the role of government and federalism, the Second Amendment, protecting life and upholding our civil liberties.
We spoke of our shared Western values: mine as a native Montanan, his as a native Coloradoan. He understands our way of life and Montana values. His face lit up as he talked about his love of the outdoors and his passion for fishing.
Neil Gorsuch is the mainstream judge the American people deserve.
I’m excited for our country that we have such a qualified nominee. I look forward to casting my vote to confirm him to the highest court in our country. —Steve Daines, Bozeman Republican, U.S. senator
Sen. Tester on wrong side of Gorsuch vote
On allying himself with N.Y. Sen. Chuck Schumer’s schoolyard fight against Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, Jon Tester has vacated his responsibility to Montanans and the U.S. Constitution.
Why? Perhaps to assure funding for his 2018 campaign from East and West Coast liberal wings of the Democratic Party.
Sure wish he’d reconsider his position. —Margaret Davis, Lakeside