Letters to the editor Dec. 5
Pacific Northwest Trail route
I have read numerous articles and listened to several local and national radio broadcasts over the past few months regarding the portion of the Pacific Northwest Trail that traverses the Yaak Valley in northwestern Montana.
One of the most troubling aspects of the whole conversation is the fact that in spite of a 1980 federal report recommending “no trail,” this portion of the trail was designated part of the Pacific Northwest Trail and thus a part of the National Scenic Trail in 2009 in direct opposition to said report, which stated that “there would be significant adverse environmental impacts on the grizzly bear and on fragile and frequently over-utilized high elevation areas.”
The trail was approved by Congress in 2009 when “attached” to another Omnibus Land Bill. It was also approved without any further environmental review, with no environmental impact statement, and with no comprehensive management plan set in place by the U.S. Forest Service.
This is an insult to the residents of the Yaak Valley and to all Montanans. It is also in direct violation of federal law.
It’s a shame that this issue has to be broadcast before the nation to receive the chance at justice it deserves. Methodical exploitation, even in the occurrence of oversight or neglect, or even in the name of environmentalism, is a disgrace to the Montana that we live in.
Why cannot we as a state have more respect for our most fragile habitats, our endangered wildlife, and our remaining wild nature than what we have?
Please reroute the Pacific Northwest Trail out of Yaak and down along the Kootenai River. Give those last few remaining bears there a chance.
—Keith Kratzer, Columbia Falls
Proud to be in the club
I’m going to try to reach you and all the very proud people who love Montana.
Face it, all of us TV watching public find commercials as boring, repetitious and annoying.
However, one continuous commercial I find as the number one, most beautiful and unforgettable. It’s about the Montana Club. This is not a plug for the restaurant, but they deserve the 100% credit for it’s endeavor. It’s about how, for the 30 to 60 seconds, we as true Montanans get to stop and right in front of us, we can visibly see why we love and live in Montana.
“This is where we live, raise our families, love our friends and neighbors.” Quite frankly and simply “We are Montana!”
Not so bad to belong to the club. Although I’ve never had the privilege to dine there, but it’s on my bucket list.
I sincerely want to praise and thank you for giving me that beautiful message to remind me and remember how proud I am to be a true and loyal Montanan.
—Rhonda Wiebe, Kalispell
Impeachment rules
To all who have never read the Constitution, or if having read it did not understand the plain language contained therein.
Article 1 Section 2 paragraph 5: “The House of Representatives shall ... have the sole power of impeachment.” This includes of the president. But, it means specifically the House of Representatives. NOT Nancy Pelosi, nor any of her lackeys in chairmanships of committees. It means the ENTIRE House of Representatives.
Unless, and until, the FULL House of Representatives votes to impeach any executive officer or the president, there is no impeachment. And impeachment is not a conviction of any “high crime or misdemeanor”.
Additionally, filing a false charge is a crime.
—Jim Greaves, Thompson Falls
A political statement
I read where Governor Bullock has temporarily banned electronic cigarettes, according to the Associated Press, because “at least 18 people have died and more than 1,000 people have been sickened.” I am assuming these are national statistics.
If the governor was so concerned about our health why hasn’t he banned all motor vehicle usage, as so far there’s been 145 fatalities on Montana highways this year? But let’s get really serious. If the governor wanted to save lives he could ban all handguns as they were used to kill 7,032 people in 2017. (Who gives a crap about the Constitution when you’re a Democrat?) Or how about baseball bats and the like? They killed 467 nice folks. Or what about knives, which bled out 1,591 innocent lives.
Governor Bullock doesn’t really care about those poor unfortunate souls who passed due to vaping. (They probably weren’t vaping legal products anyway.) Instead he’s trying to make a political statement so he can be someone’s vice presidential running mate.
The ban is temporary, that’s so no one will challenge it in court as the legal process grinds too slowly. Plus, he’s picking on a minority population with no political clout. (Users of e-cigarettes.)
The article above also claims 22,000 Montanans use vaping products who are between the age of 12 and 18 (most can’t vote). Well kids, let this be an important lesson for you. Notice this Democrat governor placed a ban on selling vaping products without first taking any legal action to prove the harmful effects of the product.
Democrat presidential candidates have already stated they want to seize your guns. In the past 100 years, governments have killed 89 million unarmed citizens. Do you want to be next?
—Norm Johnson, Polson