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Editor works to keep Opinion section fair

I just want to add my 2 cents (sorry, Frank) to Bill Baum’s op-ed of Sunday, Feb. 4 (“Give Miele a break”).

As I was drafting my own op-ed that appeared in the same edition of the Daily Inter Lake, I traded e-mails with Editor Miele several times. But at NO TIME did Mr. Miele ever tell me what I could and could not put in my piece. Frank was patient, helpful and fair. He published my op-ed even though it was too long and was critical of him and his column from the previous week. He provided me access to a forum I would not have otherwise enjoyed in order to express views diametrically opposed to his own. Mr. Miele is to be commended for this, and not derided for publishing letters that Inter Lake readers may find too far left or too far right.

And so, Bill, I couldn’t agree with you more about Mr. Miele, and I’m proud to be your friend even if some fellow liberals may not be. —Robert Horne Jr., Whitefish

Bundys and the U.S. Constitution

U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro in January dismissed “with prejudice” all charges against Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his sons. “With prejudice” means that the federal prosecutors could not come back again for yet another long, drawn-out, costly trial. liven Bundy has already been incarcerated for 700 days.

Judge Navarro denounced the government’s misconduct as “especially egregious,” “grossly shocking,” “reckless,” and “willful.” She found prosecutors had engaged in a “deliberate attempt to mislead” and had made multiple misrepresentations to the defense and to the court. “The court has found that a universal sense of justice has been violated.”

Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution is the federal government granted enumerated, or even implied, power to exercise sovereignty, dominion, jurisdiction and authority over lands within the border of these Western states unless it has been granted that right by the legislature of the state. This the states have not done. And in accordance with the U.S. Constitution, even then, only for “forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings.” If the Constitution doesn’t mean what it says, then we have no Constitution. It is time to follow the United States Constitution and restore the “rule of law.” So help us God! —Tony Kimberlin, Libby

Right to choose

I recently read a letter in the Inter Lake that expounded on a woman’s right to choose regarding her own body. I agree, you are right, as far as it concerns YOUR body. But no woman ever walks into an abortion clinic and says “take my life.” NO. they ask to take another life. Different DNA, features, talents, unique. One designed by the Creator of us all.

If you are considering an abortion please have an ultrasound and you will see a life you can protect. You will be thankful you did. —Georgia Branscome, Kalispell

Whitefish has wrong approach on zoning

Recently I saw an article about Whitefish government opposing a rezoning of a parcel of land near Majestic Valley area as light industrial. This continues a leitmotif of Whitefish discouraging development of industries that pay a living wage.

This appears to me to be in direct conflict with a Whitefish goal of racial, social and economic diversity and the non-discrimination ordinance extending civil rights to residents based on sexual orientation and gender identity in two ways.

The opposition to industrial development in addition to the current overly restrictive zoning regulations and the Pavlov’s dog response to NIMBYs creates a recipe for social and economic inequality in two ways.

First: the need for industrial development in the wealth creating industries of extraction, agriculture, manufacturing and transportation. These are the industries that create jobs that pay a living wage as well as health and retirement benefits. Without these jobs the community relies on low-paying and seasonal jobs provided by the tourism industry.

Second: the restrictive zoning and NIMBYism discourages the development of residential housing. This creates a supply bottleneck and an artificial market, outside of the hills and the lake, which results in unnatural high prices for housing. The current average prices of a single family house requires a household income that only the ttop quintile can afford. With only 2-3 percent of blacks, Hispanic and LGBT in the top quintile this effectively creates social and economic discrimination against these social categories of people.

I am advocating a review of the current zoning regulations to make them less restrictive and more encouraging for industrial and residential development. This could create more jobs that pay a living wage and increase the supply of housing that in theory would bring down the costs for residential housing making it more affordable to folks outside of the top quintile and create a more ethnic and socially diverse community. —John Connelly, Whitefish

Michigan water bottling story may be instructive

Just wondering if anyone in the Flathead Valley had seen the story in the news about the small town of Osceola Township in Michigan. It seems that they are in a big court battle with the Nestle corporation due to the a serious drop in their water table since Nestle has been producing millions of bottles of water at their water bottling plant there.

Seems they only pay around $200 a year for this privilege, and it is having a serious effect on the local lakes and rivers. And yet Nestle is applying for a change in their permit that would allow them to dramatically increase the amount of water that they can pump. It’s an unbelievable situation, and it is a huge red flag for the Flathead Valley.

It was a terrible decision by the state to approve Mr. Weaver’s bottling plant in Creston. My guess is that he will sell the bottling plant within two years to the highest bidder ... like Pepsi , Coke or Nestle. Mr. Weaver will walk away a billionaire, and the people of the Flathead Valley will be the losers ... forever! —Rod Griffin, Lakeside

Trump and GOP are hypocrites

In 2011 GOP leader Paul Ryan warned about the horrors of debt and deficits.They refused to raise the debt ceiling, forcing Obama to cut social programs.

But now that Obama is out of office, deficits are suddenly OK! The recent huge tax cuts for billionaires will only increase the deficit, and increase inequality, but it will give the GOP an excuse for cutting social programs — like Social Security and Medicare.

So don’t be surprised, Trumpian seniors, when your Social Security check goes down and your Medicare benefits are cut.

It’s all part of the GOP’s anti-tax guru Grover Norquist’s quest to “drown the government in a bathtub.”

Republican leaders are hypocrites. Worse, they are traitors to the lower- and middle-class citizens who voted for them.

Do you think, for a moment, that they really care about you? Do you think Trump cares about you? —George McLean, Kalispell