Letters to the editor Feb. 21

A broken system

Two recent articles in the Daily Inter Lake addressed the corruption in the Montana Child and Family Services system.

I am grateful to Kianna Gardner for exposing that reality in her special report, and for Amy Hanson’s article covering what is happening in our Legislature regarding the corruption.

In Hanson’s article it is clear that the department has no desire to change its ways, since they are opposed to any changes that would protect our children and families.

In Gardner’s article she points out the bullying and fear tactics used by the department to control families who question their authority.

What our community needs to recognize is this agency is the one that our courts rely on to make judicial decisions. How many children have been traumatized, families destroyed, and lives lost because judges have relied on the information they have received from a corrupt agency?

We are second in the nation for children in foster care, and yet we had another 12 children die last year despite child abuse reports to that department. Children are dying, parents’ rights are being wrongly terminated, parenting plans are being ordered that are not in the best interest of the children. Are we going to continue to allow this to happen to our children and families?

I encourage anyone who has been affected by this broken system to reach out, speak up, contact our legislators and stop the corruption.

—Stephen Elm, Kalispell

F.A.R.M.’s classic projection

The term “projection” means assigning one’s own actions onto someone else or accusing someone else of doing what you yourself did.

The full-page advertisement by Farmers and Ranchers for Montana (FARM) published in the Daily Inter Lake, and statewide, on Jan. 30 is a classic example of “projection” because it assigns the problems of the CSKT Compact onto its alternative, the People’s Compact. In fact, everything FARM accuses the People’s Compact of in its ad is instead what the CSKT Compact does!

The CSKT Compact is the one that creates uncertainty and decades of litigation over 2/3 of the state of Montana; puts the water rights of farmers and ranchers at risk by enacting a Fifth Amendment taking of those property rights; and eliminates state and local control by handing water administration over to the federal government.

So, thanks to FARM for finally describing the CSKT Compact for all to see!

Find out about the real solution to this issue by looking at www.thepeoplescompact.wordpress.com.

—Dr. Catherine Vandemoer, Kalispell

Republican presidents

Let’s not forget our new AG is the guy who arranged all those pardons for the folks who flooded California with crack cocaine to raise the cash to finance the Iran Contra fiasco. Also up to his wolf-man eyebrows in the theft of the 2000 election that we now know Al Gore actually won.

Why does it seem like every Republican president since Eisenhower has engaged in treasonous activity to win the election? Now they are trying to convince all of us our No. 1 adversary wishing us harm on the world stage, Russia, is our new best buddy. Them and Saudi Arabia — never mind they consort with Iran, Syria and Pakistan to sponsor terrorist activity around the world and shelter mass murders.

I’m old but not so old I can’t see what’s in front of my face. We have a dangerous draft-dodging moron in the Oval Office.

I will close with a final observation and question: Is it just me or has quality of care gotten worse in the VA again? I swear every time the GOP is in charge things get worse, especially for chronic pain patients (a larger share than general population by far). We are once again having pain medication taken away and offered “support groups to help me learn to live with the pain” and more PT with the same goal.

I will check back next fall to talk about the spike in suicides by veterans that you don’t have to be Edgar Cayce to see coming.

I bet if we made Veterans Day and Voting Day a three-day holiday our quality of government would improve immensely.

—Bob Petersen, Evergreen

Evergreen left out

Evergreen residents did you know that Eagle Transit stopped the commuter bus service to Evergreen on Jan. 1. Now they are going to STOP the dial-a-ride in Evergreen.

We have over 8,000 people in the Evergreen district and now have no public transit access to Kalispell! Why are Evergreen residents not as important as Kalispell?

From looking at their website, Evergreen must not be part of Flathead County as we do not have general public or paratransit services — we are only listed as premium dial-a-ride in Evergreen. There is tri-city commuter services to Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls, but NOT Evergreen? Even though their website says they provide general public services within Flathead County and even have a bus for the kids after school.

So let’s explain why Evergreen is not important enough to deserve the same general public services as Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls?

—Linda Erickson, Evergreen

Government overreach

The Montana Legislature brings us a bill that attempts to define “person” in the Montana Constitution without clear regard for the people it would impact: Montanans seeking the full spectrum of reproductive health care, including mothers like myself. With HB 302, a fertilized egg, fetus, or even a zygote would be considered a person -- and the implications are far reaching. Not only would a woman be prevented from accessing Constitutionally-protected safe and legal abortion, this could impact her birth control options or even how doctors might intervene if her pregnancy were life-threatening.

HB 302 is a blatant example of government overreaching in an attempt to control the lives of women. I urge legislators to oppose this bill and to fight for the right of all Montana families make private, personal health care decisions for ourselves.

—Mariah Friedlander, Ronan