Letters to the editor Aug. 24

Water right protection and certainty is important to not only those in agriculture, but all Montanans. Whether used for irrigation or any beneficial use, all Montanans have a vested interest in the certainty and protection of water rights that is provided through the Water Rights Protection Act (S. 3019).

The Water Rights Protection Act not only offers protection and certainty for individual water rights, it allows statewide adjudication of water rights to advance, prevents years of costly litigation, and very importantly recognizes Montana’s primacy over our water resources.

We are hopeful this legislation will continue to move through the federal process and we extend our appreciation to Senator Daines and Senator Tester for their effort to get this landmark legislation to this point.

—Michael E. Murphy is Executive Director of Montana Water Resources Association

Thank you to Senator Jon Tester for introducing the bill to permanently protect the Badger-Two Medicine area. Montanans should be proud of this win-win accomplishment, created by all of the people that have had meaningful connections to its rivers, trails, and grasslands. Anyone who has spent time there will realize the importance of protecting this “Last Best Piece” of the Rocky Mountain Front!

—Dulcy West Zoellner, Whitefish

I read the letters to the editor and most have nothing good to say about our president. I wonder if they even know what he has done for this country. What have President Trump and his cabinet accomplished? The man works tirelessly.

Here is a list that doesn’t even begin to cover his accomplishments.

• Trump recently signed three bills to benefit Native people. One gives compensation to the Spokane tribe for loss of their lands in the mid-1900s, one funds Native Language Programs, and the third gives federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Montana.

• Trump signed a law to make cruelty to animals a federal felony.

• Trump signed a bill making CBD and Hemp legal.

• Trump’s EPA gave $100 million to fix the water infrastructure problem in Flint, Michigan.

• Under Trump’s leadership, in 2018 the U.S. surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the world’s largest producer of crude oil.

• Trump signed the “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act” (FOSTA)

• Trump signed a bill to require airports to provide spaces for breastfeeding moms.

• Low-wage workers are benefiting from corporations that are increasing entry-level pay.

• Trump signed the biggest wilderness protection and conservation bill in a decade and designated 375,000 acres as protected land.

• Trump signed the Save our Seas Act which funds $10 million per year to clean tons of plastic and garbage from the ocean.

• He signed a bill this year allowing some drug imports from Canada.

• Trump signed an executive order this year that forces all health-care providers to disclose the cost of their services.

• He created a White House VA Hotline.

• VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.

—Grace Larson, Kalispell

I get why people don’t like to wear face masks — they are somewhat uncomfortable. What I don’t get is how a public health issue has become a political one. What is key to understand is that we all live in a civilized society. Society restricts everyone’s freedom to do as they please, and quite significantly — you can’t smoke in businesses or on planes; you must have a driver’s license and insurance; you can’t shoot your neighbor because you don’t like him; you can’t speed; you can’t yell fire in a crowded theater and cause panic, etc. Just look at the size of the legal codes, all of which restrict behavior and freedom. Those are the prices we all pay to live in a society. We are obligated to behave in ways that don’t unduly impact or harm other people at the cost of some of our own freedoms.

In the middle of the most serious public health crisis since 1918, wearing masks is one of those costs to our freedom, so that you protect not only yourself but also your fellow citizens. Why is that difficult to understand? The evidence is overwhelming: masks protect both you, the wearer, and those around you. It’s not political, it’s common sense to protect yourself and your fellow citizens from a horrible death and perhaps lifetime debility. You must sacrifice a bit of your freedom to live in this society — or else leave us and go deep into the wilderness and never interact with anyone. You won’t have to wear a mask there.

—Matt Bradley, Kalispell