Letters to the editor Aug. 5
Evolution
It's just evolution. As a dominate species we kill off all the competition.
In this case it's the pesky livestock-, deer- and elk-killing wolf. Once he is gone, again, then we can shoot our plentiful wildlife from the road and have ranchers get a safe cheap meal off of "public" lands.
Then fast forward to a few decades down the road, the tree huggers get rid of the ranchers and the dirty methane belching cows, eat veggie burgers, lab-grown meat and experience the West at a dude ranch.
It's just evolution, so it's OK.
—Dennis McDowell, Bigfork
Copper Kings are back
The 67th Montana Legislature has been over for six weeks and we continue to hear about the aftereffects of this session.
Our legislators took an oath to uphold and defend both the federal and state constitutions, yet numerous bills enacted this session are clearly unconstitutional. Knowing that many of these bills would be challenged in courts the Legislature even set aside $100,000 of our tax money to fight lawsuits.
HB 102 “campus carry bill”. Article X of our state constitution gives full authority over the University System to the Board of Regents. The Board and other groups have filed lawsuits against this law as unconstitutional. Funny thing, when the Legislature passed this bill, they made a caveat that the University System would receive an extra $1 million if they don’t sue the state over it.
The HB 176 “voter suppression bill” has eliminated same-day voter registration, even though voters affirmed same-day registration in 2005 and reaffirmed same-day registration in 2014. Our legislators blatantly ignored what the citizens of Montana had legally voted for.
HB 112 “save women’s sports” prohibits transgender athletes from participating in sports. Article X of the constitution speaks to equality of education that is guaranteed to all. This bill goes directly against its intent. Our legislators created a caveat that the bill would be void if federal money under Title IX would be jeopardized, but our University System would still be at risk of losing $350 million in federal funding. Championship games might also be pulled from the state if the NCAA follows its policy of inclusion and protection of transgender athletes.
The GOP is not the same party that defended our Constitution in the past. Remember the Copper Kings who ruled Montana? They are back, but now they call themselves “the conservative Republican Party.”
—Gerry Browning, Polson
Chart your own path
The recent, well-written and persuasive op-ed from the Wall Street Journal (The Finality of Trump Losing Michigan) shows that it’s possible - easy in fact - to be a hard-right Republican conservative and still reject The Big Lie.
It’s like whitewater rafting — you can love the river without feeling like you have to chart your path over the big boulder that will likely dump you and all your passengers into a cold, unpleasant and dangerous circumstance. Rejecting the boulder doesn’t mean you are rejecting Trump’s policies and actions. You’re just prudently steering away from a core belief that our democracy is inherently unfair and broken.
Please read the op-ed and re-evaluate your position.
—Walter Rowntree, Kalispell