Letters to the editor Feb. 7

Impressed by vaccine process

My wife and I received our first COVID vaccine shots on Thursday at the Expo Center of Flathead Fairgrounds in Kalispell. I was very skeptical initially about the ability of the Health Department to pull this off considering all the issues they have been wrangling about lately, but now I cannot find enough words of praise for their execution of this process.

Our initial call to be included on the list was on Jan. 19, our verification call was received on Sunday Jan. 24, the reservation call received on Jan. 27, with vaccination on Jan. 28. There was a vaccine scheduling issue relating to my wife’s very recent knee surgery that was handled very efficiently over the phone and at time of check in at the Expo Center.

The bottom line is that everyone involved combined to make this an incredible example of great customer service and a triumph of common sense to work around the extra requirements.

Heroes is such a meaningless word anymore, so I challenge everyone to find your own “hero” badge to pin on all the staff and volunteers running the Flathead Vaccine program.

—Neil Lovering, Whitefish

Brokenhearted

I am brokenhearted that Joe Biden, a self-professed and media-promoted devout Catholic, is making war on Catholics and Catholic doctrine through the power of the presidency.

Joe is committed to codifying into law the abomination of one of the flimsiest Supreme Court decisions in American history, Roe vs. Wade. Both Pope Francis and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated that ending abortion is a “preeminent priority” in part because it represents the worst aspects of the American “throw-away” culture. Catholic teaching states, “Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.”

Since the Roe decision, over 62,000,000 murders have been perpetrated against the most innocent among us. Joe Biden, the devout Catholic, under the ironic euphemism of “reproductive rights,” makes it a priority for his administration that this abomination accelerates.

Joe Biden will sue the Little Sisters of the Poor, Catholic nuns, and laypeople who commit their lives to support the impoverished elderly in their communities, many through free hospice services. They are being sued under the direction of a “devout Catholic” for practicing their First Amendment right of freedom of religion by living out Catholic doctrine.

Saint John Paul II once stated, “A nation that kills its own children has no future.” Mother Teresa echoed these sentiments saying, “A nation that kills its own children in the womb has lost its soul.” Both are champions to be admired and emulated. I pray that both Joe Biden and our nation follow JPII and Mother Teresa’s lead and repent from these actions. If not, Joe Biden will continue to be an embarrassment and an abomination to me, as a Catholic.

—Gerry Nolan, West Glacier

The real socialists

President Trump’s China tariffs badly damaged the prices for Montana farms. Then came $12 billion for subsidies in 2018 and another $16 billion last year. I kept hearing how farmers would rather have fair prices. So then why did so many Montana rural counties vote for Trump? I guess they liked the subsidies after all. Who would have guessed that Montana farmers would turn out to be the real socialists.

—Rob Foote, Polson

Neither wanted nor needed

I wish to urge our legislators to vote no on HB 112 which would require athletic teams to be designated based on biological sex. As the appointed ASMSU lobbyist, it is my duty to explain why this bill is neither wanted nor needed at MSU.

This session, legislators have emphasized the importance of limited government and individual liberty. HB 112 is an example of government unnecessarily involving itself in the lives of individuals and deviating from those values.

The ASMSU discrimination statement ensures no one regardless of any status – including sex, gender identity, and genetic information – is excluded from ASMSU programs, activities,and services. This policy overwhelmingly passed a vote by the student body, indicating that MSU students want campus to be a safe and inclusive space. The Bozeman Nondiscrimination Ordinance also protects LGBTQ+ folks in public spaces. In Bozeman and at MSU, we strive to be inclusive and accepting of our LGBTQ+ community members.

Campus climate surveys have indicated that 10% of the MSU student body (roughly 1,700 students) identify as LGBTQ+. Every semester, hundreds of students, staff and faculty elect to participate in Safe Zone training, a course intended to educate on LGBTQ+ issues. This attitude at MSU is a part of the reason that in June 2020, MSU was named the best college in Montana for LGBTQ+ students.

The title of this bill – the “Save Women’s Sports Act” – is also rhetorically manipulative, suggesting that women’s sports are in need of “saving” without explaining why such “saving” is needed in the first place. I surveyed many student athletes and found that cis-female athletes don’t see trans women athletes as a threat to their sports, furthering that HB 112 is neither wanted nor needed.

I strongly urge our legislators in Helena to vote no on HB 112.

—Rachel Schmidt, Helena