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What are they keeping in those container sites anyway?

I want to report the excessive use of force in Flathead County. Go to the Marion container site. Apparently gates, lights, an obnoxious number of warning signs, and a fully militarized SWAT team complete with an MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicle were not enough to protect their trash. Now county officials have surrounded the whole site with lethal razor wire. Why?

Exactly what is the justification of this use of potentially deadly force?

Specifically what are government officials protecting to keep inside or planning to keep inside? This is not a rhetorical question. Readers await a specific answer from Flathead County officials. —Roger Dwyer, Kila

Now about the latest news...

What I read in the papers and see on the TV news:

WOW! Men want to be girls, girls want to be men! Women abort babies only to have them pulled out, killed and their body parts sold! WOW! Unplanned Unparenthood is a total success in killing babies and making a profit on cut up parts while being funded by taxpayers! Is this a great country or what?

Now let’s talk taxes and agree that 10 percent is enough for everyone while 15 percent for businesses is fair. We do not need deductions on tax credits at this rate and could simplify the forms so we could all but do away with the IRS staffing, thus saving taxpayer money on needless government employees.

Now let’s get a judge and jury of Clinton haters to balance the recent lynch mob and try them for all their crimes against this country! How about a jury of the women Bill forced into sex and Hillary railroaded into secrecy! Put it on pay-per-view and send the money to pay off the trillions wasted by your elected officials! OK, so only $2 trillion was robbed from Social Security but take that from canceled foreign aid, welfare, housing, student loans and get that money repaid quickly.

What the heck, the kids on campus don’t want to be Americans anyway by their action, so spend taxpayer money on the rest of society. If you remember Obama said to forget the Russians and get on with the election, so do it! Hillary challenged Trump to win the Electoral College, and he did that! We as a country need to support the president in his goals to help us all, as we did for the last eight years.

Simply make a list of good and bad for the past 20 years of elected officials and see what has been changed the last year. If things do not change for the better, than elect someone else in three years. If there is still an America free enough to have another election. —Ron Albrecht, Kalispell

Trump critic urged to look at the facts

In response to Bill Baum’s letter to the Inter Lake of Nov. 12, those voting for Trump did not win the popular vote but the electoral vote.

As for me, ignorance is not bliss since I possess two college degrees. It appears to me as if Mr. Baum does not pay attention to actual events or statistics. Then again it seems as if Mr. Baum is either unaware of or ignorant of President Trump’s achievements, such as accomplishing part of his goal of bringing jobs back to this country by enticing companies to invest in America again, thereby employing people.

Another accomplishment — bringing our military back up to the point where our allies once again have some respect for us and our enemies have some reason to fear us (for instance, his accomplishments against ISIS).

Mr. Baum also makes the mistake many do regarding the so-called “separation of church and state.” Amendment One of the Constitution actually reads in part, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or [this part is generally ignored] prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...” Where is Trump advocating the establishment of a religion? In fact he is encouraging the second part of that amendment — he is encouraging the freedom of people to worship as they choose.

It appears to me that Mr. Baum had best be served by enlightening himself of factual data before he makes statements and tries to present them as “facts.”

In fact, I also foster some grievances as far as what Trump proposes, but in order to keep this letter short, I’ll list them another time. —Bob Tebeau, Kalispell

Water-bottling plant concerns

As we await the DNRC’s decision on the Creston water bottling plant, I think it’s important to examine the broader trend this issue represents. I would consider our beautiful environment to be our most valuable resource here in Montana. And unfortunately, as we all know, anything valuable requires protection or it will be lost.

People from all over the world recognize the unique beauty of Montana, so it’s not surprising that our community’s growth continues to accelerate. Change is surely inevitable but not all change is equal. Through self-regulation, we need to ensure that we augment our environment rather than exploit it.

This is why it’s so alarming to see our state’s environmental agencies act so flippantly toward an issue that concerns many of us. The DNRC initially misused a 50-year-old model to determine the plant wouldn’t affect nearby water flow. I say misused because they didn’t even gather all the data the model called for. At the hearing in September, other experts and a newer model called these earlier results into doubt. And further, the climate has become increasingly volatile in recent years, defying many previous trends.

But perhaps the most distressing part of the proposed bottling plant is the apparent plan to expand production. The water right that Mr. Weaver applied for is enough for a plant roughly 15 times the size of the one he initially described. Although he claims he has no plans to expand it to this size, he also intends to let the market determine the scale of production. This is not reassuring.

If the DEQ and DNRC aren’t going to protect our interests, it is vital that we come together as a community. Only by thoughtfully directing our expansion, can we keep our home the last best place. —Jackson Day, Bozeman

Trump looks toward fascism

I think the reason the anti-fascism movement is growing in this country is because Trump-Bannon-Breitbart et al are trying to turn the country in that direction. Fascism is a political system characterized by strong nationalism, militarism, and racism, with a dictator at its helm. Recent examples are Putin, Mussolini, and Hitler.

This is the way Trump ran (or runs) his business. He was the dictator, he made all the decisions, and everyone was subservient to him. He was very resentful of any governmental regulation as it tended to take power away from him. Some people like this type of system. They don’t have to think; they can sit back and let the “strong” man run things. All they have to do is curry favor by fawning and flattering the dictator, thereby getting “gifts” or rewards from him.

The problem with this system is that it’s pretty much the exact opposite of democracy and our country’s emphasis on fairness, dispersed leadership, and inclusiveness: “Dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal.” Hopefully we will awaken to the threat of Trumpism-fascism and steady the sweet ship of democracy. —Paul Maurer, Whitefish