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Math vs. Trump

The next time you hear that Trump will turn the country around, think about the word ‘trillion’.

One trillion seconds equals 32,000 years.

The U.S. debt is $20 trillion.

Now the bad news: Your 401(k), retirement plan, savings account and all U.S. dollar-based assets (excluding cash) are merely numbers on a screen. They can be changed with strokes of a keyboard, but not your keyboard.

What is my point? If you can’t touch it, you don’t own it. Everything is not going to be OK. —Roger Dwyer, Kila

A plea for love, peace and hope

Well, here we are into the second week of the New Year. Most of us have made some kind of resolutions. How is that going for you? It is not too late to make adjustments and reset if necessary. One suggestion is to start each day with a prayer of thanksgiving, for all of our blessings. Sometimes it is hard to see what blessings we have. Look close to home, our spouses, children, grandchildren, where we live, our freedom, our country and all the possibilities in our lives.

Then a prayer of petition, for what we need, for our family and friends, for our country.

Our country and our leaders need our prayers. We need unity, resolve and common goals. We need to help our poor. We need community spirit, to work together, to stand together, to find a common purpose. We need to find peaceful, loving solutions to our differences. How can we hope for world peace if we can’t find peace at home? This should be a year of hope for all of us. Of course there will be challenges, but we can solve them, if we work together, and make sure God is in the solution. To quote Mother Teresa, “To promote peace in this world — Go home and Love your family.” So resolve to pray, pray, pray. I hope your New Year is filled with love, peace and hope. —Jay Trepanier, Kalispell

Federal policy on drilling needs true reform

The announcement to cancel the remaining oil and gas exploration leases in the Badger-Two Medicine comes as no surprise. The leases are just another casualty of the Obama administration’s politicized energy agenda.

Though the canceled leases were first approved in the eighties, decades of political maneuvering have prevented a single well from being drilled. Coalitions of environmental groups and tribes have placed pressure on agencies to block legally permitted oil and gas projects.

With the Dakota Access Pipeline delay in the spotlight since September, new protests have sparked up around the country to stop development projects. The decision by the BLM sends a resounding message to those hoping for certainty in the permitting process and for just execution of the law. Unfortunately, it was not the message they wanted to hear.

While it’s politically convenient to say “some places are too special too drill”, it is this kind of thinking that has directed land management policies down the path of using arbitrary metrics to accomplish ideological objectives.

As the new administration takes shape, we hope to see a more predictable approach to development on federal lands, and greater recognition of the indispensable benefits the energy industry provides. —Alan Olson, Helena, Montana Petroleum Association executive director

Trump should be suspicious of Putin

Putin did not become the president of Russia by being a nice guy. He had to step over a lot of bodies to become the director of the KGB first. He achieved that position by being cunning and ruthless. President Trump should be very suspicious of any of Putin’s motives by any act of friendliness or kindness towards the U.S. The KGB kills people daily in order to achieve its goals. Putin manipulates people for the same goals of the KGB.

Putin cannot be trusted! Communism has only one religion and that religion is for the advancement of communism. —Sinowa Cruz, Kalispell

Commissioner urges rejection of ‘Quiet Waters Initiative’

I would like to express my objection to the “Quiet Waters” initiative being proposed by the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. This is just another attempt to take away public access to our public waterways.

As with many initiatives, they are not fully vetted for the impact they would have on communities, not to mention the bureaucracy that would be needed to enforce these new regulations.

The Backcountry Hunters and Anglers make some assumptions about the effects of motorized use on public waterways in their proposal, but do not back those statements up with any scientific documentation.

The determination that this amendment would “not significantly and directly impact small businesses” is simply not true. In fact, if adopted, this would have a detrimental effect on many local and regional businesses.

Please reject the “Quiet Waters” initiative. —Pam Holmquist, Kalispell, Flathead County commissioner

Thanks for articles about solidarity in Whitefish

Thank you for your ongoing articles about the united front in solidarity for diversity and against white supremacy! Your news coverage inspired me to attend the Jan. 7 “Love Not Hate” gathering in Whitefish while I was in the area visiting family. I was heartened by local residents, public officials, religious leaders, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, small business owners, Love Lives Here and the Montana Human Rights Network all standing together in defense of Whitefish Jewish business owners and others under siege by neo-Nazis.

The large turnout for the Jan. 7 rally in freezing temperatures illustrated that there are far more people on the side of justice than those on the side of hatred. Public rallies such as this and public counters against white supremacists, should they march, are exactly what is needed to stop them from recruiting and building a movement. Lining the street with banners and signs in defense of the most vulnerable would continue to send a strong message to Montanans, the rest of the country and the world that neo-Nazis will not be allowed to carry out their dirty work in Whitefish! —Mary Ann Curtis, Hollywood, California